We throw around the word “community” in the video games arena without a second thought. Even small enthusiast sites have community managers and a myriad of other ways to strengthen and connect people who are passionate about games. If it weren’t for several key creatives that helped form the gaming landscape through the decades, though, we might not have the communities we all take for granted. Dungeons & Dreamers’ updated second edition guides us on a journey that shows how communities became so important to gaming. It’s an intriguing thesis that is hammered home with a continuous chain of examples that make it undeniable how integral community has always been to video games.

Although QuakeCon hasn’t wrapped up yet, it has pretty much settled into its groove until its Sunday conclusion. If you weren’t able to make it to Dallas for this year’s free gathering of FPS nuts, I snapped a few pictures to help give you a feel for the show.

Couldn't make it down to Big D this year to go to QuakeCon? We've got you covered with a photo album to make you feel like you waited in line for hours on end too.

We'll lead you through our two days spent at QuakeCon 2012, where the biggest draw is the huge LAN party that attracted over 3,500 participants this year. We'll show you the trek to the hotel in 107 degree Texas heat, panels with videogame luminaries, and everything in between.

Apogee Software reveals a new first person shooter to the most concentrated form of the key demographic imaginable.

Apogee Software of Duke Nukem Trilogy fame took the stage first at QuakeCon 2012 to reveal their newest old-game-rebirth project, Rise of the Triad. This first person shooter has players battling not-Nazis (that look a lot like Nazis) called Triad. Rise of the Triad’s big reveal was extremely violent and clearly born of the makers of Duke Nukem. The quick teaser trailer showed a brutal killing of someone begging for mercy as the crowd cheered, followed by many similar moments punctuated with some uh, impressive voice work yelling “f*ckin’ A!” and similar witticisms.

A healthy line up of guests, events, and demos should draw in the crowds.

The date and location of this year’s QuakeCon have been known for some time, but Zenimax has just provided the first details of what will be on the show floor. The event will kick off with John Carmack’s keynote address at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas on August 2. A host of other panels will follow through the duration of the conference that wraps on August 5. Panels like “The Game of Making Games” and an Idle Thumbs Podcast will provide a steady flow of things to do while giving your rig a break from the “world’s largest LAN party.”

Fun, fast-paced gameplay overshadowed by an outdated matchmaking system

With addictively chaotic gameplay and intelligent map design aimed at thrusting players headfirst into the action, Nexuiz has the potential to be a great game. Based on an open-source PC game that was derived from a Quake mod, Nexuiz is heavily inspired by its illustrious gaming background. Sounds like an old-school gamer’s dream, right? Unfortunately, it’s not. While Nexuiz brings us classic gameplay from a forgotten era; it also delivers an outdated matchmaking system along with it.

QuakeCon's dates have been revealed for this year. It will be open to the public and attendance is FREE! We all like free stuff, right? The convention will take place between August 2-5 at the Hilton Anatole hotel in Dallas, Texas.